GAME INFORMATION
Game #27: Cornell at Yale
Tip off: Friday, March 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Lee Amphitheater (New Haven, Conn.)
2015-16 Records: Cornell (14-12, 6-6 Ivy); Yale (12-17, 3-9 Ivy)
Series Record: Yale leads, 49-25
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 74-63 (Ithaca, N.Y.) on 2/6/16
Live Video:  http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell/schedule
Live Stats: www.YaleBulldogs.com 
 
Game #28: Cornell at Brown
Tip off: Saturday, March 5, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Pizzitola Center (Providence, R.I.)
2015-16 Records: Cornell (14-12, 6-6 Ivy); Brown (13-13, 1-11Ivy)*
Series Record: Brown leads, 48-25
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 85-70 (Ithaca, N.Y.) on 2/5/16
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell/schedule
Live Stats: www.BrownBears.com 
 
* records prior to Friday, March 4
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team wraps up the regular season on the road this weekend and has its sights set on posting its best overall record, and its best Ivy League record, since the 2007-08 season. Cornell needs just one win over either Yale on Friday, March 4, or Brown on Saturday, March 5 to accomplish the feat, but victories over both would give the Big Red its first season sweep of the two programs since the 2008-09 season. Individually, junior Nia Marshall will also look to make history this weekend, as she sits just 27 points shy of breaking the school record for points in a single season. Both games will be broadcast live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
 
THE SERIES VS. YALE: Cornell first faced the Bulldogs in the 1974-75 season, with Yale taking the 31-23 victory. Since 2000, Cornell holds the slight edge in the series (15-14 ), with the Big Red winning seven-straight from 2000 to 2003, and splitting the series in 2005-06 and 2006-07, before sweeping Yale from 2006-09. The Bulldogs had an eight-game winning streak snapped in 2014, and the Big Red has won two straight. Yale owns the lead in the all-time series history, 49-25, but Head Coach Dayna Smith is 12-15 all-time vs. the Bulldogs.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BULLDOGS: The Big Red used a 31-9 run over a span of 12:25 to close the second and open the third period, erasing an 11-point Yale advantage and taking a lead it would not relinquish en route to a 74-63 victory on Feb. 6 at Newman Arena. The Bulldogs made a late run to get within four points three times, including one final time with 36 seconds to play, but Megan LeDuc made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to finish with a career-high 20 points and seal the victory for the Big Red. In addition to her 20 points, LeDuc registered a team-high eight rebound and handed out five assists. While LeDuc closed the game strong for the Big Red, it was Nia Marshall who sparked the decisive run, scoring 10 points during the span, to finish with 18 points on a 7-of-12 performance from the floor. Marshall also had four steals, including a critical one with 1:38 to play as she ripped the ball away from Yale's Katie Werner in the paint and got the ball to LeDuc, who hit a streaking Kerri Moran for the easy lay-in to end a 2:15 scoring drought by both teams and give Cornell a 66-60 lead. Junior forward Nicholle Aston was also in double-digits for the Big Red with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, while senior Maddie Campbell also had eight rebounds, four points, three assists, one block and one steal.Yale was led by Tamara Sampson's 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Meghan McIntyre finished with 19 points as well. The Bulldogs' season leading scorer, Nyasha Sarju, was held to just nine points (6.9 less than her season average), and was forced into three turnovers in just 19 minutes before fouling out of the contest.

THE SERIES VS. BROWN: Cornell's rivalry with the Bears began in the 1974-75 season when Brown defeated the Big Red, 34-30. The Bears dominated the series during the first 20 years, with Cornell winning only three times prior to the 1994-95 season. Since that year, the series has been far more competitive, with Cornell holding the slim 22-21 lead, though the Bears still hold the advantage in the all-time series with a record of 48-25. Cornell has won six of the last eight meetings and head Coach Dayna Smith is 13-14 all-time vs. the Bears.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BEARS:  The Big Red used an incredible defensive effort to erase a four-point halftime deficit and roll to an 85-70 victory on Feb. 5 vs. Brown in Newman Arena. Both teams shot better than 50 percent over the first two periods of the game and the visitors took the 41-37 lead into the intermission, thanks to a 6-of-11 mark from beyond the arc, but Cornell locked down the Bears in the third quarter, holding Brown to a 3-of-17 performance overall and a mark of 0-of-5 from 3-point range. On the other end, the Big Red connected on 9-of-12 from the field, and made 8-of-12 from the charity stripe to go up by double-digits (64-52) heading into the fourth quarter. Brown managed to get within single digits just twice over the final 10 minutes, but came no closer than eight points (77-68) in its attempt to close the gap. The Big Red made six consecutive free throws, and converted two traditional three-points play to seal the victory. Cornell had four players score in double-digits, led by Nia Marshall's 23-point, nine-rebound night. The junior forward converted 7-of-10 from the field and knocked down 9-of-10 free throws, while adding four blocks and two steals. Junior guard Kerri Moran registered a career-high 19 points, thanks in large part to a 13-of-14 performance from the charity stripe, and handed out four assists. Junior guard Megan LeDuc (13) and junior forward Nicholle Aston (12) also reached double-digits and handed out five and four assists, respectively. Senior guard Maddie Campbell finished with eight points and matched Marshall with a game-high nine rebounds. Brown was led by Jordin Alexander and Rebecca Musgrove, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, but of their combined 36 points, only 10 were scored after halftime.
 
STORY LINES:
• The Big Red enters the weekend sitting in fifth place in the Ivy League with a 6-6 conference mark.
• Cornell needs just one victory to post its most overall wins and its most Ivy League wins since the 2007-08 season.
• Nia Marshall needs just 27 points over the weekend to set the school record for points in a single season.
• Megan LeDuc and Kerri Moran are both on the verge of entering the Big Red's top 10 for assists in a single season with 111 and 109, respectively. If both were to jump into the top 10, it would mark the first time in program history that a pair of teammates finished in the top 10 for assists in the same season.
• The Big Red is looking for its first sweep of Brown since the 2013-14 season and its first sweep of Yale since 2008-09.
• The 2008-09 campaign is also the last time Cornell swept both the Bears and Bulldogs in the same season.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT: Nia Marshall is on pace to break the school record for points in a single season (Mary LaMacchia – 467 in 1995-96). The junior forward, who averages 17.0 points per game, enters this weekend in eighth place with 441 points on the season and needs just 27 points (13.5 ppg) over the final two games to set the new standard … A year ago, Marshall fell just 13 points shy of breaking the school record, finishing the year with 455 points to rank third behind LaMacchia and Rhonda Anderson (462 in 1982-83).
 
A PERFECT TIME: Junior guard Megan LeDuc is in the midst of a streak of 126:00 without a turnover that began vs. Dartmouth on Feb. 19. During that time, she has handed out 16 assists … Earlier this season over the course of four games – Marshall, Towson, Stony Brook and Fairfield – junior guard Kerri Moran had a streak of 96:16 without a turnover, including two full games vs. the Tigers and Seawolves. During that time, she has handed out 16 assists.
 
10 ASSISTS CLUB: Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc became the 11^th and 12^th players, respectively in Cornell history to have 10 assists in a single game, with Moran doing so vs. Towson on Dec. 2 and LeDuc doing so vs. Penn on Feb. 26. In total, 12 players have accounted for 23 double-digit assist performances in Cornell history.   
 
PERFECT 10: On Dec. 2 vs. Towson, Kerri Moran became the first player in Cornell history to post 10 assists, with zero turnovers, in a single game. Just over two months later, classmate Megan LeDuc accomplished the same feat with 10 assists and no turnovers vs. Penn on Feb. 26 … On three previous occasions, Lauren Benson (12-1 vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 21, 2009), Kacee English (11-1 vs. Penn on Feb. 28, 1997) and Keri Farley (10-1 vs. Colgate on Dec. 6, 1994) had all posted 10+ assist performances with just one turnover.
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: For the second year in a row, Nia Marshall has scored more than 400 points in a season, entering the weekend with 441. Her 441 points ranks eighth overall in Cornell women's basketball history, she is also just the third player to do it twice in a career – joining Karen Walker (1989-90, 1990-91) and Keri Farley (1994-95, 1992-93).
 
WELL ROUNDED: With her nine rebounds at Harvard on Feb. 20, Nia Marshall became just the second player in Cornell women's basketball history to record 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots in a career, joining Clare Fitzpatrick '13.  
 
COMEBACK KIDS: Cornell has tailed at some point in 10 of its 14 victories this season, including three games in which it trailed by double-digits. The largest lead the Big Red has overcome was a 17-point deficit to Columbia on Jan. 16. The Lions led, 30-13, early in the second period before the Big Red fought back to win, 66-59. Cornel has also trailed by 11 to Yale on Feb. 6, before winning 74-63, as well as 10 points vs. Bryant, before outscoring the Bulldogs, 26-15, in the final quarter of action to steal a 70-62 victory.
 
SMALL SENIOR DAY: Cornell's 2015-16 roster features just one senior – Maddie Campbell. Every other team in the Ivy League has at least two seniors, while Princeton tops the conference with five. 
 
100 THREES: With five 3-pointers vs. Harvard on Feb. 20, Cornell eclipsed 100 3-pointers for the eighth straight season … Cornell has registered at least 100 3-pointers in all but one season under head coach Dayna Smith, with the 2006-07 squad coming up just short with 98 treys.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: So far this season, Cornell has held 16-of-26 opponents (62 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor. Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Big Red has held 58 of its 104 opponents (56 percent) to below 40 percent.
 
TIGHT LOSSES: So far this season, six of Cornell's 11 losses have come by nine or few points. A year ago, eight of the Big Red's 13 losses came by nine or fewer points.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: The Big Red is second in the Ivy League and fifth in the nation in fewest turnovers (324) … Cornell ranks third in the conference and is 96th in the country with a 2.18 assist/turnover ratio … The Big Red is also second in the conference and 12th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.5).
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU: Cornell ranks second in the Ivy League and 42nd in the nation in assists per game (15.6) … Kerri Moran ranks second in the Ivy League and ranks 17th nationally with a 1.25 assist/turnover ratio ... Megan LeDuc leads the Ivy League and ranks 121st in the nation with 4.3 assists per game, while Moran ranks second in the conference and 131st in the country with 4.2 assists per game.
 
MAKING THE CONNECTION: Cornell ranks second in the Ivy League and 121st in the nation in field goal percentage (.409) … The Big Red is even better from beyond the arc, ranking second in the conference and 42nd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.347).
 
RULE FOLLOWERS: The Big Red ranks 34th in the nation in fewest fouls (415).
 
SCORES A LOT: Nia Marshall has jumped up to seventh place in Cornell history for career points (1,248) … She leads the Ivy League and ranks 86th in the nation in points per game (17.0) … The junior forward also ranks fourth in the conference and 110th in the country in field goal percentage (.468).
 
CORNELL TOP 10: Junior Nia Marshall has moved into the top 10 in career  points made (seventh), field goals (fifth), career free throws made (eighth), career defensive rebounds (sixth), career steals (eighth), career blocked shots (fourth), and career starts (10th) … Classmate Kerri Moran has moved into the top 10 in career assists (seventh).
 
HOLDING THE LEAD: The Big Red has a perfect 9-0 record this season in games in which it has led at halftime.
 
1,000-POINT CLUB: With a 31-point performance vs. Binghamton on Dec. 30, 2015, Nia Marshall became the 14th 1,000-point scorer in Cornell women's basketball history.
  
ON THE SMALL SIDE: Cornell's roster of 12 players is the smallest in the Ivy League.
 
COACHING TENURE: Head coach Dayna Smith, in her 14th season at the helm of the Big Red program, ranks fourth overall in Ivy League women's basketball history in years served as a head coach in the conference. Only one active coach, Harvard's Kathy Delaney-Smith (34th season), ranks ahead of Cornell's Smith.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 57-of-160 games (35 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 29-30 record (.491).
 
STARTING STREAK: Junior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 56 games. Marshall had started every game of her freshman season, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red added two players to the 2015-16 squad – Samantha Clement (Anaheim, Calif.) and Caroline Shelquist (Minnetonka, Minn.). The duo hails from two different states and features a Miss Basketball Minnesota nominee (Shelquist), as well as a player that broke her high school's record for career 3-pointers made (Clement).
 
HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has a new face on the bench for the 2015-16 season, as Kelsey Florian has joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Florian comes to East Hill following a successful two-year stint with Ithaca College, where she served as a graduate assistant coach for the Bombers while earning a Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences. While at IC, Florian was part of the 2014-15 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year after helping the Bombers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During her two seasons on South Hill, Ithaca posted a combined record of 49-11, a pair of Empire 8 regular season championships, and one E8 Tournament championship. A native of Roseville, Minn., Florian played collegiately at Gustavus Adolphus College.